Naples man sentenced in check cashing identity theft scheme

Victor Martinez Pantoja, 23, of Naples, has been sentenced to 34 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Pantoja previously pled guilty to one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 64l, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, on Nov. 21, 2013, Pantoja met with two people and negotiated a deal to cash fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury income tax refund checks.

During the meeting, Pantoja gave the individuals three Treasury checks totaling $27,263 to be cashed, provided a copy of a counterfeited Florida driver's license and social security card for each corresponding Treasury check, and forged the names of the individuals to endorse the back of each check.

Pantoja obtained these U.S. Treasury checks by filing fraudulent tax returns using the identities of individuals who died in the previous tax year. He obtained the deceased individuals' identities from the Internet.

Court documents also state that the individuals agreed to cash the Treasury checks within three business days and to return $20,500 to Pantoja.

On November 26, 2013, the individuals gave Pantoja $20,500 as payment for the previous three Treasury checks. During this meeting, Pantoja provided the individuals with six Treasury checks totaling $35,547, which were to be cashed by the individuals.